Mastercard

Mastercard Inc.

Logo used since 2019, with the current symbol since 2016 without the "Mastercard" wordmark.
Company type	Public
Traded as	NYSE:MA(Class A) S&P 100component S&P 500component
ISIN	US57636Q1040
Industry	Financial services
Founded	1966(1966)
Headquarters	2000 Purchase Street, Purchase,New York , U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Merit Janow(chair) Michael Miebach (CEO) Sachin Mehra (CFO)
Brands	Cirrus Maestro Mondex MasterPass
Services	Credit cards Debit cards Payment systems
Revenue	US$25.10 billion(2023)
Operating income	US$14.01 billion(2023)
Net income	US$11.19 billion(2023)
Total assets	US$42.45 billion(2023)
Total equity	US$6.93 billion(2023)
Number of employees	33,400 (2023)
Website	mastercard
Footnotes / references

Mastercard Inc.(stylized asMasterCardfrom 1979 to 2016,mastercardfrom 2016 to 2019) is an Americanmultinationalpayment card servicescorporation headquartered inPurchase, New York.It offers a range of payment transaction processing and other related-payment services (such as travel-related payments and bookings). Throughout the world, its principal business is to process payments between the banks of merchants and the card-issuing banks or credit unions of the purchasers who use the Mastercard-branddebit,creditandprepaidcards to make purchases. Mastercard has beenpublicly tradedsince 2006.

Mastercard (originallyInterbank,thenMaster Charge)was created by an alliance of several banks and regional bankcard associations in response to the BankAmericard issued byBank of America,which later becameVisaand is still its biggest competitor. Prior to itsinitial public offering,Mastercard Worldwide was acooperativeowned by the more than 25,000financial institutionsthat issue its branded cards.

History

Although BankAmericard's debut in September 1958 was a disaster,it began to turn a profit by May 1961.Bank of America deliberately kept this information secret and allowed then-widespread negative impressions to linger in order to ward offcompetition.This strategy was successful until 1966, when BankAmericard's profitability had become far too big to hide.From 1960 to 1966, there were only 10 new credit cards introduced in the United States, but from 1966 to 1968, approximately 440 credit cards were introduced by banks large and small throughout the country.These newcomers promptly banded together into regional bankcard associations.

One reason why most banks chose to join forces was that at the time, 16 states limited the ability of banks to operate through branch locations, while 15 states entirely prohibited branch banking and required unit banking.A unit bank can legally operate only at a single site and is thereby forced to remain very small.By joining a regional bankcard association, a unit bank could quickly add a credit card to its lineup of financial products, and achieveeconomies of scaleby outsourcing tediousback officetasks like card servicing to the association.Such associations also enabled unit banks to aggregate their customer bases and merchant networks in order to make a credit card useful for both customers and merchants; early credit cards had failed because they could only be used within a small radius around their respective issuing banks.

In 1966, Karl H. Hinke, an executive vice president atMarine Midland Bank,asked representatives of several other banks to meet him inBuffalo, New York.Marine Midland had just launched its own regional bankcard in theUpstate New Yorkmarket after Bank of America declined its request for a BankAmericard regional license on the basis that Marine Midland was too big.The result of the Buffalo meeting was that several banks and regional bankcard associations soon agreed to join forces as Interbankard, Inc.,which then became the Interbank Card Association (ICA).By the end of 1967, ICA had 150 members and Hinke became ICA's chairman.Bank of America eventually joined MasterCard as well.(In the 21st century, Bank of America would revive the BankAmericard brand name as a Mastercard credit card, which it remains today).

The Interbank branding in 1966 initially consisted only of a small unobtrusive lowercaseiinside a circle in the lower right-hand corner of the front of each Interbank card; the rest of the card design was the prerogative of each issuing bank.This tiny logo proved to be entirely unsatisfactory for creating nationwidebrand awarenessin order to compete against the established leader, BankAmericard.In 1969, Interbank developed a new national brand, "Master Charge: The Interbank Card" by combining the two overlapping yellow and orange circles of the Western States Bankcard Association with the "Master Charge" name coined by the First National Bank of Louisville, Kentucky.

That same year,First National City Bankjoined Interbank and merged its proprietaryEverything Cardwith Master Charge.

In 1968, the ICA andEurocardstarted a strategic alliance, which effectively allowed the ICA access to the European market, and for Eurocard to be accepted on the ICA network. TheAccesscard system from the United Kingdom joined the ICA/Eurocard alliance in 1972.

Master Charge decal still in a store window in 2024 inPasadena, California,United States

In 1979,Master Charge: The Interbank Cardwas renamedMasterCard.

In 1983, MasterCard International Inc. became the first bank to use holograms as part of their card security.They acquired the Cirrus network ofautomated tellersin 1985.

In 1997, MasterCard took over the Access card; the Access brand was then retired.In 2002, MasterCard International merged withEuropay International,another large credit-card issuer association, of which Eurocard had become a part in 1992.MasterCard became a Delaware corporation in connection with the merger, as well as in anticipation of an IPO.

The company, which had been organized as acooperativeof banks, had aninitial public offeringon May 25, 2006, selling 95.5 million shares at $39 each.The stock is traded on theNYSEunder the symbol MA, with a market capitalization of $434 billion as of April 2024.The deal was designed to maintain the value of the brand and minimise regulatory costs.

In August 2010, MasterCard Worldwide, as it had been rebranded, expanded its e-commerce offering with the acquisition ofDataCash,a UK-based payment processing and fraud/risk management provider.In March 2012, MasterCard announced the expansion of its mobile contactless payments program, including markets across the Middle East.

In spring 2014, MasterCard acquired Australia's leading rewards program manager company Pinpoint for an undisclosed amount.In August 2017, Mastercard acquired Brighterion, a company with a portfolio of intellectual property in the areas of artificial intelligence and machine learning.Brighterion holds severalpatents.

In April 2021, Mastercard created a calculator that gathers information and measures the carbon footprints of the customers in order to help them know how much they are contributing in carbon emissions and global warming.

Following the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,Mastercard complied with United States sanctions and banned cards from being issued or used in Russia, including foreign cards from other countries.Mastercard suspended all business operations inRussia,which had accounted for 4% of their revenue.However, bank cards themselves continue to work in Russia due to the transfer of internal transactions to theRussian National Card Payment System.

On November 17, 2023, the Chinese government approved the local bank cardclearinglicense for the joint venture established by Mastercard in China.On May 9, 2024, the joint venture can issue Mastercard bank cards that use RMB for payment.

In September 2024, Mastercard acquired cybersecurity companyRecorded Futurefor $2.65 billion.

Finances

Development since 2005

Year	Revenue (US$ M)	Operating income (US$ M)	Share price (US$)	Employees
2005	2,938	393
2006	3,326	229	6.20
2007	4,068	1,108	13.65
2008	4,992	−534	20.33
2009	5,099	2,260	17.99	5,100
2010	5,539	2,752	22.01	5,600
2011	6,714	2,713	28.73	6,700
2012	7,391	3,937	41.58	7,500
2013	8,312	4,503	59.34	8,200
2014	9,441	5,106	75.33	10,300
2015	9,667	5,078	90.62	11,300
2016	10,776	5,761	94.50	11,900
2017	12,497	6,622	126.54	13,400
2018	14,950	7,282	186.16	14,800
2019	16,883	9,664	300.74	18,600
2020	15,301	8,081	370.00	21,000
2021	18,884	10,082	354.83	24,000
2022	22,237	12,264	347.73	29,900
2023	25,098	14,008		33,400

As of 2024, Mastercard ranked 164 on theFortune500list of the largest United States corporations by revenue.

Market power

Operating a payment processing network entails risk of engaging in anticompetitive practices due to the many parties involved (that is, the customer and their bank and the merchant and their bank).

Few companies have faced more antitrust lawsuits both in the US and abroad.

United States

Mastercard, along with Visa, engaged in systematic parallel exclusion againstAmerican Expressduring the 1980s and 1990s. Mastercard used exclusivity clauses in its contracts and blacklists to prevent banks from doing business with American Express. Such exclusionary clauses and other written evidence were used by the United States Department of Justice in regulatory actions against Mastercard and Visa.Discoverhas sued Mastercard for similar issues.

Both Mastercard and Visa have paid approximately $3 billion in damages resulting from aclass-action lawsuitfiled in January 1996 for debit card swipe fee price fi xing.The litigation cites several retail giants as plaintiffs, includingWal-Mart,Sears, Roebuck & Co.,andSafeway.

In 1996, four million merchants sued Mastercard in federal court for making them accept debit cards if they wanted to accept credit cards and dramatically increasing credit card swipe fees. This case was settled with a multibillion-dollar payment in 2003. This was the largest antitrust award in history.

In 1998, the Department of Justice sued Mastercard over rules prohibiting their issuing banks from doing business with American Express or Discover. The Department of Justice won in 2001 and the verdict withstood appeal. American Express also filed suit.

On August 23, 2001, Mastercard International Inc. was sued for violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

On November 15, 2004, Mastercard Inc. paid damages toAmerican Express,due to anticompetitive practices that prevented American Express from issuing cards through U.S. banks,and paid $1.8 billion for settlement.

Swipe fee fi xing and merchant discount bans

Main article:Payment card interchange fee and merchant discount antitrust litigation

On November 27, 2012, a federal judge entered an order granting preliminary approval to a proposed settlement to a class-action lawsuitfiled in 2005 by merchants and trade associations against Mastercard and Visa. The suit was filed due to alleged price-fi xing practices employed by Mastercard and Visa. About one-fourth of the named class plaintiffs have decided to opt-out of the settlement. Opponents object to provisions that would bar future lawsuits and prevent merchants from opting out of significant portions of the proposed settlement.

Plaintiffs allege thatVisa Inc.and Mastercard fixedinterchange fees,also known as swipe fees, that are charged to merchants for the privilege of accepting payment cards. In their complaint, the plaintiffs also alleged that the defendants unfairly interfere with merchants from encouraging customers to use less expensive forms of payment such as lower-cost cards, cash, and checks.

A settlement of $6.24 billion got preliminary approval in November, 2019.A settlement of $5.54B was approved in 2019. Certain merchants appealed the settlement and were heard. The case is ongoing as of October 2022.

Antitrust settlement with U.S. Justice Department

In October 2010, Mastercard and Visa reached a settlement with theU.S. Justice Departmentin another antitrust case. The companies agreed to allow merchants displaying their logos to decline certain types of cards (becauseinterchange feesdiffer), or to offer consumers discounts for using cheaper cards.

ATM operators

Mastercard, along withVisa,has been sued in a class action by ATM operators that claim the credit card networks' rules effectively fix ATM access fees. The suit claims that this is arestraint of tradein violation of federal law. The lawsuit was filed by the National ATM Council and independent operators of automated teller machines. More specifically, it is alleged that Mastercard's and Visa's network rules prohibit ATM operators from offering lower prices for transactions over PIN-debit networks that are not affiliated with Visa or Mastercard. The suit says that this price-fi xing artificially raises the price that consumers pay using ATMs, limits the revenue that ATM operators earn, and violates theSherman Act's prohibition against unreasonable restraints of trade. Johnathan Rubin, an attorney for the plaintiffs said, "Visa and Mastercard are the ringleaders, organizers, and enforcers of a conspiracy among U.S. banks to fix the price of ATM access fees in order to keep the competition at bay."

Oceania

In 2003, theReserve Bank of Australiarequired that interchange fees be dramatically reduced, from about 0.95% of the transaction to approximately 0.5%.One notable result has been the reduced use ofreward cardsand increased use of debit cards. Australia also prohibited the no surcharge rule, a policy established by credit card networks like Visa and Mastercard to prevent merchants from charging a credit card usage fee to the cardholder. A surcharge would mitigate or even exceed the merchant discount paid by a merchant, but would also make the cardholder more reluctant to use the card as the method of payment. Australia has also made changes to the interchange rates on debit cards and has considered abolishing interchange fees altogether.

As of November 2006,New Zealandwas considering similar actions, following aCommerce Commissionlawsuit alleging price-fi xing by Visa and Mastercard. In New Zealand, merchants pay a 1.8% fee on every credit card transaction.

Europe

TheEuropean Unionhas repeatedly criticized Mastercard for monopolistic trade practices. In April 2009, Mastercard reached a settlement with the European Union in an antitrust case, promising to reduce debit card swipe fees to 0.2 percent of purchases.In December 2010, a senior official from the European Central Bank called for a break-up of the Visa/Mastercard duopoly by the creation of a new European debit card for use in theSingle Euro Payments Area(SEPA).

WikiLeakspublished documents showing that American authorities lobbiedRussiato defend the interests of Visa and Mastercard.In response, Mastercard blocked payments to WikiLeaks. Members of theEuropean Parliamentexpressed concern that payments from European citizens to a European corporation could apparently be blocked by the United States and called for a further reduction in the dominance of Visa and Mastercard in the European payment system.

In 2013, Mastercard was under investigation by the European Union for the high fees it charged merchants to accept cards issued outside the EU, compared to cards issued in the EU, as well as other anti-competitive practices that could hinder electronic commerce and international trade, and high fees associated with premium credit cards. The EU's competition regulator said that these fees were of special concern because of the growing role of non-cash payments. Mastercard was banned from charging fees on cross-border transactions conducted wholly within the EU via a ruling by the European Commission in 2007.The European Commission said that their investigation also included large differences in fees across national borders. For instance, a €50 payment might cost €0.10 in the Netherlands but eight times that amount in Poland. The Commission argues that Mastercard rules that prohibit merchants from enjoying better terms offered in other EU countries may be against antitrust law.

TheEuropean Consumer Organisation(BEUC) praised the action against Mastercard. BEUC said interbank fees push up prices and hurt consumers. BEUC Director General Monique Goyens said, "So in the end, all consumers are hit by a scheme which ultimately rewards the card company and issuing bank."

In January 2019, the European Commission imposed an antitrust fine of €570,566,000 on Mastercard for "obstructing merchants' access to cross-border card payment services", due to Mastercard's rules obliging acquiring banks to apply theinterchange feesof the country where a retailer was located. The Commission concluded that Mastercard's rules prevented retailers from benefitting from lower fees and restricted competition between banks cross border, in breach ofEU antitrust rules.The infringement of antitrust rules ended when Mastercard amended its rules due to the entering into force of the Interchange Fee Regulation in 2015, which introduced caps on interchange fees. The Commission did grant Mastercard a 10% reduction of the fine however, in return for Mastercard acknowledging the facts and cooperating with the antitrust investigation.

In February 2021, following an investigation by the BritishPayment Systems Regulator,Mastercard admitted liability for breaching competition rules in relation to pre-paid cards.

Other issues

United States internet gambling transactions

Mastercard, Visa, and other credit cards have been used to fund accounts sinceonline gamblingbegan in the mid-1990s.

On March 20, 2000, theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana,reviewed motions inRe: MasterCard International Inc.regarding multi-district litigation alleging Mastercard illegally interacted with a number of internet casinos. The plaintiffs alleged, among other claims, that Mastercard had violated theFederal Wire Act.They sought financial relief for losses suffered at online gambling sites outside the United States.

The District Court's ruling on February 23, 2001, later upheld by theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit,sided with Mastercard. The Fifth Circuit also clarified the application of the Wire Act to illegal online gambling. The Court determined that the wire act only applied to gambling activities related to a "sporting event or contest". Therefore, the court could not conclude that Mastercard had violated the Wire Act.

When PASPA was overturned May 14, 2018, Mastercard had to provide new guidance to its member banks. It clarified that state location restrictions apply to the individual placing the wager, not the member bank processing the transaction. According to various state gaming laws, sports betting providers must useInternet geolocationto determine a customer's physical location prior to accepting a wager.TheIndependent Community Bankers of Americaspecifically requested information about a new online gamblingmerchant category code.Mastercard has dedicated MCC 7801 to online gambling. This code is distinct from 7800 for government owned lotteries and 7802 for government licensed horse and dog tracks.

Blocking payments to WikiLeaks

In December 2010, Mastercard blocked all payments to whistleblowing platformWikiLeaksdue to claims that they engage in illegal activity.In response, a group of online activistsAnonymousorganized adenial-of-service attack;as a result, the Mastercard website experienceddowntimeon December 8–9, 2010.On December 9, 2010, the servers of Mastercard underwent a massive attackas part of anOperation Avenge Assangefor closing down payments to WikiLeaks. The security of thousands of credit cards was compromised during that attack due to a phishing-site set up by the attackers.However, Mastercard denied this, stating that account data had "not been placed at risk".WikiLeaks' spokesman said, "We neither condemn nor applaud these attacks."U.N.High Commissioner for Human RightsNavi Pillaysaid that closing down credit lines for donations to WikiLeaks "could be interpreted as an attempt to censor the publication of information, thus potentially violating WikiLeaks' right to freedom of expression".

In July 2011,Iceland-based IT firm DataCell, the company that enabled WikiLeaks to accept credit and debit card donations, said it would take legal action against Visa Europe and Mastercard,and that it would move immediately to try to force the two companies to resume allowing payments to the website.Earlier on December 8, 2010, DataCell's CEO Andreas Fink had stated that "suspension of payments towards WikiLeaks is a violation of the agreements with their customers."On July 14, 2011, DataCell announced they had filed a complaint with theEuropean Commissionclaiming the closure by Visa and Mastercard of Datacell's access to the payment card networks violated the competition rules of the European Community.

On July 12, 2012, aReykjavíkcourt ruled thatValitor,Visa and Mastercard's partner in Iceland, had to start processing donations within fourteen daysor pay daily fines to the amount of ISK 800,000 (some $6000) for each day after that time, to open the payment gateway. Valitor also had to pay DataCell's litigation costs of ISK 1,500,000.

Corporate branding of all Nigerian identity cards

In 2014, pursuant to an agreement between Mastercard and theNigerian Government,acting through the National Identity Management Commission, the new NigerianID cardsbear the Mastercard logo, contain personal database data and double aspayment cards,irrevocably linking such payments to the individuals,sparking criticism by the Civil Rights Congress alleging that it "represents a stamped ownership of a Nigerian by an American company... reminiscent of the logo pasted on the bodies of African slaves transported across the Atlantic."

Selling of credit card data

In 2018,Bloomberg Newsreported thatGooglehad paid millions of dollars to Mastercard for its users' credit card data for advertising purposes. The deal had not been publicly announced.

Regulatory ban In India

On July 14, 2021, theReserve Bank of India(RBI) indefinitely barred Mastercard from issuing new debit or credit cards to domestic Indian customers starting July 22, 2021, for violatingdata localizationand storage rules as set by RBI on April 6, 2018, underPayment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act).This ban does not affect cards already issued and working in India. Mastercard is the third majorpayment systems providerto be restricted in India afterAmerican ExpressandDiners Club International.On June 16, 2022, the business restrictions imposed were lifted by RBI with immediate effect.

Regulatory ban In Vietnam

In 2018, theState Bank of Vietnam(SBV) requested that banks temporarily halt the issuance of new Mastercard cards due to violations of international payment regulations. Specifically, Mastercard did not comply with the regulation of conducting payments through the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS). In 2020, the ban was lifted after Mastercard committed to complying with Vietnamese regulations.Despite its widespread acceptance, using Mastercard in Vietnam still comes with certain limitations: Some Vietnamese websites and applications do not accept Mastercard as a payment method.Not all ATMs in Vietnam allow cash withdrawals using Mastercard.Some Mastercard users in Vietnam have reported experiencing inadequate customer service.

Adult content restrictions

In December 2020, Mastercard barred the use of its credit cards onPornhub,an online pornography site.In April 2023,The Hillreported on an update to Mastercard's policy for adult content that would require sellers to have age and identity verifications and content review prior to posting in place.The new policies took effect in October 2021.On August 30, 2023, theAmerican Civil Liberties Union,in combination with a coalition of other organizations, filed a complaint with theFederal Trade Commissionrequesting an investigation into the policy as an unfair business practice under Section 5 of theFTC Act.

Products

Depending on the geographical location, Mastercard issuers can issue cards in tiers, from the lowest to the highest, Traditional/Classic/Standard, Gold/Titanium, Platinum, World and World Elite.

Through a partnership with an Internet company that specializes in personalized shopping, Mastercard introduced a Web shopping mall on April 16, 2010, that it said can pinpoint with considerable accuracy what its cardholders are likely to purchase.

In September 2014 Mastercard worked withAppleto incorporate a new mobile wallet feature into Apple's new iPhone and Apple Watch models known asApple Pay,enabling users to more readily use their Mastercard, and other credit cards.

In May 2020, Mastercard announced the Mastercard Track Business Payment Service. The service will provide business-to-business payments between buyers and suppliers. According to the head of global commercial products, it "creates a directory of suppliers, enabling suppliers to publish their payment rules so they can better control how they receive payments while making it easier for buyers to find suppliers and understand their requirements".

On February 10, 2021, Mastercard announced their support ofcryptocurrenciessaying that later in 2021, Mastercard will start supporting select cryptocurrencies directly on their network. One of the main focus areas that Mastercard wants to support is using digital assets for payments, and that crypto assets will need to offer the stability people need in a vehicle for spending, not investment.In October 2021, Mastercard announced that through its partnership withBakkt,any bank or merchant on its network would soon be able to offer crypto services.In June 2022, Mastercard announced that it would now be allowing cardholders to purchase NFTs via various NFT scaling platforms.

Prepaid debit cards

Mastercard,Comerica Bank,and the U.S. Treasury Department teamed up in 2008 to create the Direct Express Debit Mastercard. The federal government uses the Express Debit product to issue electronic payments topeople who do not have bank accounts.Comerica Bank is the issuing bank for the debit card.

The Direct Express cards give recipients a number ofconsumer protections.

In June 2013, Mastercard announced a partnership withBritish Airwaysto offer members the Executive Club Multi-currency Cash Passport, which will allow members to earn extra points and make multi-currency payments. The Passport card allows users to load up to ten currencies (euro,pound,U.S. dollar, Turkish lira, Swiss franc, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, New Zealand dollar, U.A.E. dirham, and South African rand) at a locked-in rate. When used, the card selects the local currency to ensure the bestexchange rate,and if the local currency is not already loaded onto the card, funds are used from other currencies.

QkR

QkR is a mobile payment app developed by Mastercard operating in the US and Australia for the purpose of ordering products and services through asmartphonewith payments charged to the associatedcredit card.It is being deployed for use in large-scale events, such as sport events, concerts, movie theaters or schools. Unlike other Mastercard mobile payment apps such as Pay Pass, QkR does not useNFCfrom the phone, but rather an Internet connection.

Users can open the app, scan aQR codelocated on the back of the seat in front of them, and place orders for refreshments of their choice.The order is dispatched to a nearby concession stand.

QkR is being marketed to vendors as a replacement for other mobile payment apps and a mobile ordering app, either distributed by the vendor (such asStarbucks's app,McDonald's' app, orChipotle's mobile ordering app) or by a third party, such asSquare,headed byTwittercofounderJack Dorsey.

Mastercard Contactless

Mastercard Contactless (formerly PayPass) is anEMV-compatible,contactless paymentfeature similar to American Express'ExpressPay,and VisapayWave.All three use the same symbol as shown on the right. It is based on theISO/IEC 14443standard that provides cardholders with a simpler way to pay by tapping a payment card or other payment device, such as a phone or key fob, on a point-of-sale terminal reader rather than swiping or inserting a card. Contactless can currently be used on transactions up to and including 100GBP,50EUR,60BAM,80CHF,50USD,100CAD,200SEK,500NOK,100PLN,350DKK,80NZD,100AUD,1000RUB,500UAH,500TRYdepending on the card's currency rather than the transaction currencyor 5000INR.

PayPassRFIDchip

Holder with a miniatureprepaidcontactless payment card of the French neobankanytime

In 2003, Mastercard concluded a nine-month PayPass market trial inOrlando, Florida,withJPMorgan Chase,Citibank,andMBNA.More than 16,000 cardholders and more than 60 retailer locations participated in the market trial.In addition, Mastercard worked withNokiaand theNokia 6131,AT&T Wireless,and JPMorgan Chase to incorporate Mastercard PayPass into mobile phones usingnear-field communicationtechnology, inDallas,Texas.In 2011,Googleand Mastercard launchedGoogle Wallet,anAndroidapplication which allows a mobile device to send credit/debit card information directly to a PayPass-enabled payment terminal, bypassing the need for a physical card, up until the creation ofGoogle Pay.In 2014, theApplereleasedApple PayforiOSdevices.

During late 2015, Citicards in the US stopped issuing PayPass-enabled plastic, but the keyfob was still available upon request. Effective July 16, 2016, Citicards stopped supporting PayPass completely. While existing plastic and keyfobs continued to work until their expiration date, no new PayPass-enabled hardware was issued to US customers after that date.

Crypto

In April 2023, Mastercard announced its intention to expand its partnerships with cryptocurrency firms. At the time of the announcement, the firm had already partnered with other financial companies to offer cards linked to crypto in some nations. This was despite an increasingly intense regulatory environment, and it followed rival companyVisastopping its agreement withFTXin November 2022. The company said its Mastercard Crypto Credential service would allow for transactions between countries that met requirements like so-called "travel rule" by theFinancial Action Task Force (FATF),using technology from CipherTrace. It also worked with wallet providers Bit2Me, Lirium, Mercado Bitcoin, and Uphold. Its head of crypto and blockchain, Raj Dhamodharan, said uses for NFT transactions would come later on.

Branding

1969–1979, featuring the original Interbank logo of 1966

1979–1990

1990–1996

1996–2016

2016–2019

Mastercard is associated with security and is believed to be reliable in emergencies. Antitrust litigation over the years has damaged the brand.

Table Mountain cablecar,2018

Mastercard's current advertising campaign tagline isPriceless.It started in 1997. The slogan associated with the campaign isThere are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Mastercard.The Priceless campaign in more recent iterations has been applicable to both Mastercard's credit card anddebit cardproducts. They also use thePricelessdescription to promote products such as theirpriceless travelsite, which features deals and offers for Mastercard holders,andpriceless cities,offers for people in specified locations.

In mid-2006, MasterCard International changed its name to MasterCard Worldwide. This was to suggest a more global scale. In addition, the company introduced a new corporate logo adding a third circle to the two that had been used in the past (the familiar card logo, resembling aVenn diagram,remained unchanged). A new corporate tagline was introduced at the same time—The Heart of Commerce.

In July 2016, Mastercard introduced their new rebranding, along with a new corporate logo. In addition, they changed their service name from "MasterCard" to "mastercard".

In January 2019, Mastercard removed its name from its logo, leaving just the overlapping discs.

In 2021, Mastercard was ranked number 13 onMorning Consult's list of most trusted brands.

Sports sponsorships

Mastercard sponsors major sporting events and teams throughout the world. These include rugby'sNew Zealand,theMLB,theUEFA Champions Leagueand thePGA Tour'sArnold Palmer Invitational.Previously, it also sponsored theFIFA World Cupbut withdrew its contract after a court settlement and its rival, Visa, took up the contract in 2007.In 1997, Mastercard was the main sponsor of theMastercard LolaFormula One team,which withdrew from the1997 Formula One seasonafterhaving failed to qualify its first racedue to financial problems.The team also sponsoredJordan Grand Prixfrom the1998season through to end of the2000Formula One season and on 24 July 2024 it was announced the company would return to F1 after signing a multi-year sponsorship deal withMcLaren Racing.It also partners theBrazil national football teamand theCopa Libertadores.

Mastercard was also the title sponsor for theAlamo Bowlgame from 2002 until 2005.

In late 2018, Mastercard became the first major sponsor forLeague of Legendsesports. The company sponsors theLeague of Legends World Championship,Mid-Season Invitational,and the All-stars event forLeague of Legends.

Until 2018, Mastercard was the sponsor of theMemorial Cup,theCHL's annual championship between its three leagues.

In September 2022, Mastercard acquired the title sponsorship rights for all international and domestic home matches organized by theBoard of Cricket Control in India.

Corporate affairs

Mastercard has its headquarters in theMastercard International Global HeadquartersinPurchase,New York.The Global Operations Center is located inO'Fallon,a suburb ofSt. Louis,Missouri.

Mastercard was listed as one of the best companies to work for in 2013 byForbes.In 2016, Mastercard UK became one of 144 companies who signed theHM Treasury's Women in Finance Charter, a pledge for balanced gender representation in the company.

Management and board of directors

Key executives include:

• Michael Miebach: president and chief executive officer
• Walt Macnee: vice chairman
• Robert Reeg: president – global technology & operations
• Raja Rajamannar:chief marketing officer– global marketing
• Gary Flood: president – products & services
• Noah Hanft:general counsel,chief franchise officer and corporate president
• Michael Fraccaro:chief human resources officer
• Chris McWilton: president – North American markets
• Ann Cairns: president – international markets
• Javier Perez: president – Europe
• Kevin Stanton: Chief Transformation Officer
• Ari Sarker: president – Asia-Pacific
• Betty Devita: president – Canada
• Gilberto Caldart: president – Latin America & Caribbean

Prior to its IPO in 2006, Mastercard was an association that had a board of directors composed of banks. The current board of directors includes the following individuals:

• Merit Janow,Non-Executive Chair, and Dean Emerita,School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
• Candido Botelho Bracher, Former CEO, Itaú Unibanco Group, Independent Director
• Richard K. Davis Former Executive Chairman and CEO,U.S. Bancorp,Independent Director
• Julius Genachowski Managing Director,The Carlyle Group,Independent Director
• Goh Choon Phong,CEO,Singapore Airlines Limited,Independent Director
• Oki Matsumoto, Founder, chairman and CEO, Monex Group, Inc., Independent Director
• Michael Miebach, President and CEO, Mastercard
• Youngme Moon, Donald K. David Professor of Business Administration,Harvard Business School,Independent Director
• Rima Qureshi, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer,Verizon Communications Inc.,Independent Director
• Gabrielle Sulzberger Strategic Advisor, Two Sigma Impact, Independent Director
• Jackson Tai, Former Vice Chairman and CEO,DBS Groupand DBS Bank Ltd., Independent Director
• Harit Talwar, Former Partner and chairman, Consumer Business (Marcus),Goldman Sachs,Independent Director
• Lance Uggla CEO, BeyondNetZero, Independent Director

World Beyond Cash

In 2017, CEOAjay Bangareinforced the company's goal of extending financial services to those outside the current system by bringing digital payment systems to the unbanked around the world. The company invested $500M inIndiawith offices inPuneandVadodarato help Mastercard bring cashless transactions to the largest population in the world. The company also is scheduled to invest an additional $750M in cashless apps and technology, especially focused on India between 2017 and 2020.

Banknet

Mastercard operates Banknet, a globaltelecommunications networklinking all Mastercard card issuers, acquirers, and data processing centers into a single financial network. The operations hub is located in St. Louis,Missouri.Banknet uses theISO 8583protocol.

Mastercard's network differs significantly fromVisa's. Visa's is a star-based system where all endpoints terminate at one of several main data centers, where all transactions are processed centrally. Mastercard's network is an edge-based, peer-to-peer network where transactions travel a meshed network directly to other endpoints, without the need to travel to a single point. This allows Mastercard's network to be much more resilient, in that a single failure cannot isolate a large number of endpoints.

See also

• Access
• Cirrus
• Damage waiver
• Entrust Bankcard
• Maestro
• 3-D Secure
• Mondex
• Octopus card
• Payoneer
• Redecard

External links

• Official website
• Corporate website
• Business data for Mastercard:
  • Google
  • SEC filings
  • Yahoo!